Capt. Donald
|
|
Capt. Donald |
|
Sao Paulo is where nature's jungle gives way to concrete one. It's the largest city in South America and the third largest in the world. This ethnically diverse megalopolis of 16,000,000 is the financial, commercial and industrial center of Brazil. It is also rich in culture, parks and museums.
But don't go expecting to see a beautiful city like Buenos Aires or Rio. While there are lovely neighborhoods in Sao Paulo, it seems as if everything is made of concrete-even the fire hydrants! The real reason to go is to sample its wide variety of international restaurants, fabulous shopping and very active night life-Sao Paulo is one of the very few places in the world where you can get stuck in a traffic jam at two in the morning.
The city is centered around the Praca da Se (praca, pronounced PRAH-sah, means square). It was near the square's cathedral, at the Patio de Colegio, that Jesuit priests founded the city in 1554. But the sentimental heart of the metropolis, featured in poetry and song, is the intersection of Avenida Sao Joao and Avenida Ipiranga.
You can especially enjoy Sunday morning in the square, when the Hippie Fair (a colorful flea market) is open for business.
Nearby is one of the city's loveliest parks, the Praca da Republica, and the tallest building in town (Edificio Italia, which has a rooftop garden and restaurant). Just off the Praca da Republica is the Rua Barao de Itapetininga, a pedestrian shopping street that leads to the baroque Municipal Theater (world-class concerts) and one of the city's symbols, the Viaduto do Cha (Tea Bridge). Skyscraper-lined Avenida Paulista, once the street, where coffee barons lived in splendid residences, is now the commercial center of the city.
For an idea of what a millionaire's mansion looked like, visit the McDonald's on Avenida Paulista (the hamburger chain restored one of the last remaining manors for its location).
History buffs should allow time for the 17th-century Casa do Bandeirante-the building highlights displays from Brazil's age of internal exploration. High among the city's cultural attractions is the Sao Paulo Museum of Art (locally known as MASP, it's on Avenida Paulista), with a fine collection of Portinaris and one of the largest compilations of impressionist paintings in the world. The Sacred Art Museum, near the Tiradentes subway stop, is claimed to be the best on the subject in Brazil.
Art lovers will want to visit the city in the fall of an odd numbered year, when Sao Paulo hosts the Bienal de Arte, showcasing modern art from dozens of countries. The Museum of Contemporary Art, open year in and year out, is also housed in the Bienal building. Ethnic neighborhoods provide the setting for exceptional restaurants and the city's active nightlife. Some of the more interesting areas are Bela Vista and Bixiga (both Italian), Vinte e Cinco de Marco (Arabic), Bom Retiro (Jewish) and Liberdade (Japanese). Liberdade has a colorful street fair on Sunday mornings-exit the Liberdade subway station and you'll find the market all around you.
Other Sao Paulo sights include the Butanta Institute Snake Farm and the Jockey Club (horse racing). Parks include the Parque de Ibirapuera (planetarium) and Parque de Ipiranga (the tomb of Dom Pedro I, the nation's first emperor, is in the park).
Shopping, once done only in small stores and boutiques, is now possible in upscale shopping centers all over town. Chiefs among them are Morumbi, Eldorado, Iguatemi and Ibirapuera. Alameda Itu and Rua Augusta (the latter leading off Avenida Paulista) are the chic shopping streets.
Plan two nights in Sao Paulo. For a day trip, drive down the scenic Via Anchieta to the ports and resorts of Guaruja and Santos.
Rio de Janeiro is 45 minutes away by the Air Bridge, shuttle flights that leave every half-hour).
Sao Paulo overwhelms the senses with its sheer size. With seventeen million inhabitants, it is the world's third largest city and the largest in South America. Sao Paulo and its rival Brazilian city, Rio de Janeiro, have often been compared to New York and Los Angeles respectively. If Rio has gained fame for its striking natural setting, Sao Paulo's attraction lies in its people and its vibrant cultures. The Avenida Paulista's canyon of upthrusting skyscrapers only hints at the city's sources of energy. A more cosmopolitan city than its counterpart, Sao Paulo possesses significant ethnic minority communities, including substantial Japanese, Italian, and Arab and Lebanese Christian neighbourhoods.
The array of nationalities living in Sao Paulo have made it a legendary city among gourmands: Japanese, Italian nuova cucina, Brazilian, Chinese, Jewish, and Arab restaurants are all familiar parts of the city's landscape. Brazil's famously good beef is put to good use at the numerous rodizios and churrascarias. Succulent, roasted cuts of meat are circulated around the tables and cut to patrons' order. In fact, people often visit Sao Paulo just to dine out. The Jardins district is the center of the dining scene, and thus the center of the Sao Paulosocial scene. Paulistanos eat late--restaurants often don't begin serving until 9 or 10pm, and it is common for them to stay open until 3 am.
Brazil's most modern, cosmopolitan city has much to offer in addition to its outstanding cuisines. Its museums are among the finest in South America, its surrounding coastline is graced with many lovely beaches, and its entertainment and nightlife have for years attracted some of the best performers in the world. In recent years, the city has evolved into a center for Brazil's own martial art, capoeira, whose dance-like motions are performed to music. The art has its own traditional instruments: drums and the berimbau, a stringed rod used to keep time. Originally developed as the martial art of the slaves of the Bahia, capoeira was banned by the ruling classes. To keep their art alive, the slaves turned capoeira into a dance, and the berimbau, which had warned of an approaching master, began to accompany the dance itself. As late as the 1920s capoeira was still outlawed and practiced only underground; today, it is a well-known and much-loved spectacle.
Hoteis Cabeça de Boi
- Guest Ranch (2 locations) near Sao Paulo
Americana - the last refuge of the Confederados, the remenents of the Southern Confederacy of the United States Civil war.. Andetur can arrange an 'add-on' trip to vist the Confederate community.
Copyright © 2000 / 2001 - AndeTUR Brazilian Travel Club
